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LibriVox recording of The Mysterious Island, by Jules Verne. Read by Mark F. Smith.
A story of castaways, similar to Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson, this book details the escape from Civil War-era Richmond, Virginia, of five Northern men who dared to go aloft in a balloon in the midst of a hurricane. Deposited on a lonely island in the Pacific, they make do with Yankee ingenuity where Chance has left them nothing. Only later do they find they have a hidden benefactor: Captain Nemo, of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, who resides, alone, secretly on the island. In time, the tiny colony becomes so prosperous that it is able to rescue another castaway from an island a hundred miles away. But all their work will come to naught - their island's volcano is about to awake!(Summary by Mark)
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.
For more free audio books, or to become a volunteer reader, please visit LibriVox.org.
Download M4B Part 1 (197MB)
Download M4B Part 2 (191MB)
Download M4B Part 3 (186MB)
A story of castaways, similar to Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson, this book details the escape from Civil War-era Richmond, Virginia, of five Northern men who dared to go aloft in a balloon in the midst of a hurricane. Deposited on a lonely island in the Pacific, they make do with Yankee ingenuity where Chance has left them nothing. Only later do they find they have a hidden benefactor: Captain Nemo, of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, who resides, alone, secretly on the island. In time, the tiny colony becomes so prosperous that it is able to rescue another castaway from an island a hundred miles away. But all their work will come to naught - their island's volcano is about to awake!(Summary by Mark)
For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.
For more free audio books, or to become a volunteer reader, please visit LibriVox.org.
Download M4B Part 1 (197MB)
Download M4B Part 2 (191MB)
Download M4B Part 3 (186MB)
Reviews
Reviewer:
TwinkieToes
-
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
October 4, 2020
Subject: Is it the story or the translation?
Subject: Is it the story or the translation?
I enjoyed the story and the narration. I thought there was a different reason for the resolution in the last chapter, but I was wrong. :)
One thing I DON'T like is the deliberate use of such big words, when simpler words would do. Is it the author or the translator? But it gets tedious when the text uses:
congener (rather than relative)
torrefaction (rather than roasting)
succedaneum (rather than substitute)
Yes, it bothered me so much I started noting some of the words.
I know Verne can get tedious with his naming of species of animals (got that from 20,000 Leagues), which he also does in this book, along with explaining how the genius engineer, who knows how to do EVERYTHING, contrives to smelt iron, and make felt, and the different chemical processes to make nitroglycerine, etc. But at least give us a bit of relief from the pedantry by using "normal" words for some of the descriptions, please!
OK, enough on that. Glad to get it off my chest.
The reader is excellent, although the files did have quite a bit of background noise/hum in them. The story is worth the listen.
One thing I DON'T like is the deliberate use of such big words, when simpler words would do. Is it the author or the translator? But it gets tedious when the text uses:
congener (rather than relative)
torrefaction (rather than roasting)
succedaneum (rather than substitute)
Yes, it bothered me so much I started noting some of the words.
I know Verne can get tedious with his naming of species of animals (got that from 20,000 Leagues), which he also does in this book, along with explaining how the genius engineer, who knows how to do EVERYTHING, contrives to smelt iron, and make felt, and the different chemical processes to make nitroglycerine, etc. But at least give us a bit of relief from the pedantry by using "normal" words for some of the descriptions, please!
OK, enough on that. Glad to get it off my chest.
The reader is excellent, although the files did have quite a bit of background noise/hum in them. The story is worth the listen.
Reviewer:
dameyers
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
November 27, 2019
Subject: good listen
Subject: good listen
This is a very good book, and well read.. It is such a shame holliwierd ruined such a classic story, with their disastrous attempt to make this into a movie ..
Reviewer:
librivoxbooks
-
-
February 11, 2016
Subject: Date of publication
Subject: Date of publication
As some Project Gutenberg texts do not specify the edition, we do not always know the publication date. However, it's always worth looking on the LibriVox catalogue page (linked in the description here) where you will find a link to the online text. In this case, the date of publication is known and is 1874.
Reviewer:
Satyaban
-
-
February 11, 2016
Subject: Date published?
Subject: Date published?
It would be helpful if all of book descriptions contained the date of original publication.
Reviewer:
lindaisling
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
April 14, 2013
Subject: Terrific!
Subject: Terrific!
Great reader, great story!
Reviewer:
bfilipow
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
May 18, 2009
Subject: What a book! What a reader!
Subject: What a book! What a reader!
Hats off to Mark.
Reviewer:
Chapter&Verse -
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
July 1, 2008
Subject: A Tour de Force!
Subject: A Tour de Force!
Well, at least that what it was called on Kevin Kelly's (WIRED magazine) Cool Tools site. After reading about it, I came here and found 111,000 other people had already investigated it. After listening, I vote "Aye!"
This was a very enjoyable return to one of my all-time favorite stories. Verne set out to "one-up" the other castaway books: Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson. He dumped his cast on a desert island with absolutely nothing to start with. Another reviewer thought the sequence of events was unlikely. Well, once you get past the balloon floating from Virginia to the Pacific (lol!), these guys needed a little luck thrown their way to survive! And face it - if all the events were likely, would you be entertained??
This is a great story from one of the world's master storytellers. And oh! - the reader does a bang-up job! Thumbs up!
This was a very enjoyable return to one of my all-time favorite stories. Verne set out to "one-up" the other castaway books: Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson. He dumped his cast on a desert island with absolutely nothing to start with. Another reviewer thought the sequence of events was unlikely. Well, once you get past the balloon floating from Virginia to the Pacific (lol!), these guys needed a little luck thrown their way to survive! And face it - if all the events were likely, would you be entertained??
This is a great story from one of the world's master storytellers. And oh! - the reader does a bang-up job! Thumbs up!
Reviewer:
FNH
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
May 10, 2008
Subject: Free Audio, Review
Subject: Free Audio, Review
This is a true "classic". Adventure and survival play a large part in the story. The ship/balloon wrecked survivors start by scratching a survival but slowly start adding to their tools and building a life on the lost island.
The story was a little dispointing for me, its well told but the series of happy/unlikely coincidences one on top of another, time after time stretched the possibilities just too far for my taste. I ended up coming out of the story telling experience and saying to myself, "oh not again".
It's a long audio book and in places too long. I suspect that if you were to listen to it in an episodic, one chapter a week way, the story would come across better.
Reading = 3/3
Production = 3/3
Story = 1/3
Total = 7/9
More of my reviews can be found at http://freeaudioreview.blogspot.com
The story was a little dispointing for me, its well told but the series of happy/unlikely coincidences one on top of another, time after time stretched the possibilities just too far for my taste. I ended up coming out of the story telling experience and saying to myself, "oh not again".
It's a long audio book and in places too long. I suspect that if you were to listen to it in an episodic, one chapter a week way, the story would come across better.
Reading = 3/3
Production = 3/3
Story = 1/3
Total = 7/9
More of my reviews can be found at http://freeaudioreview.blogspot.com
Reviewer:
fresch
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
March 20, 2008
Subject: One of my favorite books!
Subject: One of my favorite books!
I remember seeing the 1961 movie as an end-of-term film at school.
Later on, got the e-book on my Palm, and was very impressed with the detail of survival on Lincoln Island.
Now, have listened to the audiobook, certainly one of my favorite books, I think this would be more valuable to a castaway than Robinson Crusoe would!
Later on, got the e-book on my Palm, and was very impressed with the detail of survival on Lincoln Island.
Now, have listened to the audiobook, certainly one of my favorite books, I think this would be more valuable to a castaway than Robinson Crusoe would!
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